Book picks similar to
Bluebeard's Bride by Kathryn Cottam
gothic
fairy-tale-pastiche
romantic
ftp-bluebeard
Stake
Kevin J. Anderson - 2020
And Simon Helsing believes he was put on this Earth to do the job. He is on a single-minded crusade to hunt down vampires and kill them in their lairs. But what if vampires aren’t real? The only thing that Detective Todd Carrow believes is that the bodies turning up in Colorado Springs are the work of a lunatic. Are they strange and sadistic gang murders? Or does someone actually believe in the existence of vampires? Lexi Tarada wants to believe. As a teenager, she had an experience she still can’t explain. Now, her website sifts through the bizarre phenomena and the crazy conspiracy theories to find out what is - or might be - real. Who should Lexi believe? The detective on the case of the sadistic murders...or the guy who drives stakes through the hearts of the victims? As Lexi gets drawn deeper into Helsing’s bizarre world, and Carrow follows an increasingly baffling set of clues, fact blends into fiction, and the line blurs between what is imagined and what is real. And that may be exactly what the vampires want.
The Haunting of Alcott Manor
Alyssa Richards - 2017
His family has a past. Can they solve a century-old mystery… together? Gemma doesn't miss working for the family business. She has a knack for restoring older properties, but after a vicious haunting nearly killed her, she was more than ready to move on. Gemma agrees to one last job to save her parents’ business, but the 1880s historical estate has its fair share of dark secrets…Henry Alcott wants nothing more than to free the spirit from his family’s property. Ever since the original owner was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death, the ghost has made sure every restoration effort was a miserable failure. But there’s something about Gemma that makes Henry believe in a much brighter future…Gemma and Henry must solve a hundred-year mystery to complete the restoration in time. Failure to do so could cost Gemma’s parents their business, but staying in the house could cost them much, much more…The Haunting of Alcott Manor is a contemporary gothic romance mystery. If you like fateful chemistry, engaging characters, and mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end, then you’ll love the first book in USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author Alyssa Richards’ chilling new series.
Buy The Haunting of Alcott Manor to step inside the house today!
Circus of the Dead, Book One
Kimberly Loth - 2019
You’re invited to witness them all. Mom sent me all the way across the country to the Louisiana bayou to join the circus and help my uncle for the summer. Except there is something not quite right on this swampy cursed island, and after having my fortune told, I can’t leave. I try to escape, but Benny, an all too charming ghost gangster tries to kill me by feeding me to a tiger. Thankfully I’m rescued by Samuel, the incredibly hot ringmaster who can’t be a day over twenty. Can he?In addition to avoiding the human scorpion, staying away from the big cats, and having trouble figuring out who’s dead and who’s alive, I have to find a way to escape this horror show. Will I get out of the circus alive or will I join their army of ghosts and become a murderer myself? Welcome to the Circus of the Dead.
The Viscount's Son
Aderyn Wood - 2013
As the diary entries become darker and more mysterious, Emma meets a handsome stranger, and her personal life takes on uncanny parallels to her secret online translations. When her love life grows even stranger, Emma wonders if she should end the blog, but is it too late?The Rise of the Dark Ones Trilogy is perfect for fans of vampire and paranormal mysteries, psychic investigator thrillers, occult suspense, angels, demons, and lovers of a good twist.Alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.
Will
Christine Bernard - 2021
However, nothing good comes without a price. Will learns that with the good, comes the bad. How much is Will prepared to pay for the answers that he seeks?
The Demonologist
Andrew Pyper - 2013
Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer—he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a “phenomenon,” he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.That evening, David’s wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. The girl has recently been stricken by the same melancholy moods David knows so well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home.But what happens in Venice will change everything.First, in a tiny attic room at the address provided by the Thin Woman, David sees a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane . . . but could he truly be possessed? Then the man speaks clearly, in the voice of David’s dead father, repeating the last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars—and a mystery—behind.When David rushes back to the hotel, he discovers Tess perched on the roof’s edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever.
Beware The Boogerman
D. Glenn Casey - 2018
Hopefully.They have to look after the peace and quiet in a small town that has the unfortunate nickname “Monster Town.” Why in the world would the town be called that? Well, let’s just say that the residents of this little burg are a bit unusual and leave it at that.Anyway, what would happen if a terror came drifting into town that could scare the bejeezus out of any law abiding monster? Find out when the sheriff and his deputies go on the hunt for the Boogerman.
Crimson Security
Evie Nichole - 2017
Things are bound to get hot when the men of Crimson Security are involved. Book 1 My name is Darby Connors and I’m in deep. Maybe too deep for me to make it out alive. It isn’t the first time I’ve been in trouble while doing my job, but this time feels different. Something is coming for me. Someone is coming for me. Hendrix Crimson is assigned to guard my body, and guard it, he does. Caught up in the mess I’ve made, he tries to help me solve the case I’m working on so he only has to worry about one killer coming after me. Book 2 My name is Lacey Holt and I do not need help from Jagger Crimson. Someone is messing with my family, and my ranch, trying to drag up painful family memories. They’ve convinced my dad that my brother’s murderer is back and ready to pick off the rest of our family. I know better. I know that I can take care of it without Jagger, too. He’s a constant distraction and all he’ll do is get in my way. Convincing my dad of that is another story. When it becomes clear that the threat is directed at me, he is ready to ship me off to safety. I’m an adult, though. I’m tough. There’s nothing that this hidden bully can do to run me off my family land. Except for kidnap me and lock me away. So, maybe I do need Jagger after all. Not that I’d ever want to admit that to him. Book 3 Left an orphan after a rough childhood, I was taken in by the president of a rough Motorcycle Club. Given plenty of room to grow, I was treated like a princess. Until I wasn’t. When things in the club change and a new president takes his throne, I’m in more danger than ever. Sold and then saved by Jackson, I owe him my life. It’s not anything he’s interested in, though. Jackson comes with baggage, but I get it. I have my own. Who can help that when we unpack it, things get a little messy? Book 4 I’m not who I used to be. Detective Rain Willows died while being held captive by a very bad man. Now, I don’t know who I am. I’m not a cop. I’m barely a human some days. I’m scared. I lost everything. I gained some scars. The bad man is still after me. Thad Brooks has an ax to grind with me, but he feels like the only thing standing between me and death. I don’t want to admit that I’m afraid, or that I need help, but when things get bad enough, I’m not too stubborn to wave the white flag. Book 5 My only desire in life is to get my daughter back. At any cost, including my life. My name is Clara Crimson and I’m not a good person. I live with a monster and I have killed. I don’t deserve to be happy, but she does. Cash Crimson, my ex-husband, has every reason to hate me and he does. He probably would like to watch me die, but he thinks he needs me to find our daughter. What we find isn’t what we expected, though. I’m not sure either of us will survive it. I’m not sure I want to. We have to keep our daughter safe. We have to get close and remember we’re on the same team. It's time to bring down the man who destroyed us.
Dark Desires
Eve Silver - 2005
Damien Cole. Ignoring the whispered warnings and rumours that he's a man to fear, she takes her position at his eerie estate, where she quickly discovers that nothing is at it seems, least of all her handsome and brooding employer. As Darcie struggles with her fierce attraction to Damien, she must also deal with the blood, the disappearances ... and the murders.With her options dwindling and time running out, Darcie must rely on her instincts as she confronts the man she falling in love with. Is he an innocent and misunderstood man ... or a remorseless killer who prowls the East End streets?Note: All books in the Dark Gothic series can be read as stand-alone novels.
Jade Calhoun Series bundle, books 1 and 2
Deanna Chase - 2012
When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn't count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord. Being an empath has never been easy on Jade's relationships. It's no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it's up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she'll need Kane's help--and he's betrayed her with a secret of his own--to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?Witches of Bourbon StreetJade Calhoun was never fond of her empath abilities. Now she's discovered she has another gift she'd rather not unwrap--magic. But when her mentor, Bea, becomes gravely ill and insists Jade's the only one who can help, she's forced to embrace her witchy side.It's too bad she spent a decade shunning the magical community and never learned to harness her powers. Because time's run out. A trapped spirit has revealed a clue to Jade's long-lost mother. The resident angel has gone rogue and disappeared with Jade's boyfriend, Kane. And if that wasn't enough, her ex appears to be possessed.To save any of them, Jade will need to find a way to control her inner white witch--without succumbing to black magic. Otherwise, she'll lose everything...including her soul.
I Am The Lion
Rachelle Lauro - 2019
Now they’ll turn deadly . . . Reclusive novelist Eugenia writes a bestselling novel under the pen name Amy Mathews. Her outgoing older sister serves as the face of the fictitious writer. It’s a lucrative partnership that landed Amy Mathews literary fame and fortune . . . until now.Virginia wants more books, but Amy Mathews is pretty much dead to Eugenia. She dreams of overcoming her social phobias and writing under her own name. She wants to get out of the house. But Eugenia soon discovers that it’s not that easy to put down the pen. In fact, it could very well turn deadly . . . For fans of complex characters and subtle plots turns in the best tradition of psychological thrillers, comes this stirring and twisty tale that will leave you wondering – just exactly what defines a villain?This smart and twisty thriller that is equal parts terrifying and profound will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
Stalking Jack the Ripper
Kerri Maniscalco - 2016
But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.
In The Woods
M.K. Farrar - 2019
Surviving... can be murder.
Twenty-three year old Cassandra Draper is the latest victim of the serial killer police have dubbed ‘The Magician’, due to his ability to make women disappear.Abducted and drugged, he takes her out into the middle of nowhere, where he chains her to a tree trunk.She thinks things can’t get any worse, but a freak accident renders her completely alone.And no one knows where she is.She thought being abducted by a serial killer was as bad as things could get....
But she’s about to learn there are worse things than being dead.
The Vampire Knitting Club Boxed Set: Books 4-6: A paranormal cozy mystery
Nancy Warren - 2020
When murder comes calling, though, her undead, nosy neighbors are only too willing to help this amateur sleuth solve the case. These books contain no gore, bad language or sex, what they do offer is quirky characters, mysteries to solve and a very clever cat.